The Necessity of Humility

Humility is the key to welcoming the Kingdom of God, because humility disposes our hearts to be open to receiving divine life, grace, and wisdom.

Looking to the Blessed Mother of God, we see the perfect example. It was through her simplicity, her littleness, her openness of heart, the complete and loving surrender of this lowly handmaid to the awesome majesty of God, that salvation was realised as God took flesh in her womb.

Pride, in contrast, the sin of Her nemesis, that ancient serpent, Satan himself, hardens the heart of the individual, makes him feel self-justified, and self-reliant. Pride betrays a heart in which there is no room for God, and sometimes in which the individual has usurped God’s place; idolising himself as his own god.

Such pride is manifest in those who feel justified by their own power or wealth or influence - and who feel that this gives them the authority to live however they wish. Such pride distorts true faith, leading some Christians to ridicule the teachings of the Church, and to say that She needs to update herself - to change the Gospel to suit them. Such pride is evident, too, amongst that motley crew of fashionable atheist intellectuals, such as Richard Dawkins, who demand the secularisation of society, who passionately campaign against faith, so that we can all come to believe equally as passionately in the nothing they hold so dear.

All of these presume to know better than God, foolishly think themselves able to live without God, or put themselves, arrogantly, in the place of God. It is a sign of our times that although many say they now no longer believe in God, their pride makes them all want to be or to act like God.

In this culture, where everybody wants to be somebody, and where people believe they have no need to answer to any one other than to themselves, it is extremely unacceptable to admit that we are but dust and ashes, weak, sinful people who struggle in life, and who are dependent upon the goodness of God.

The irony is, that it is precisely by doing this that God will bring us to share in His glory, the only real glory. By acknowledging our smallness before God we will become great, by accepting our weakness, we will become strong, and by admitting to our nothingness God will open us up to receive everything. If we recognise our poverty, and the fact that we are indeed sinful and weak creatures then God, our Father, will fill us with the riches of His life and grace and we will find true glory as saints with Him in His heavenly kingdom - because the glories of this world, as we know, are but short-lived, and mean nothing when death, that great leveller of humanity, brings us before the Judgement seat of God. Then whether we have sought the limelight or had influence in whatever sphere of life we find ourselves, be it in the church, or in business, in academia, or politics, or any other profession, or whether we were simply a beggar on the street, will be immaterial. In fact, if anything, the less glory we have had in this world to encumber us, and the more poor and miserable we have been, the more likely we will be to enter the glory of Heaven.

Can we presume that we will be saved?

Can we presume that we will be saved, and enter the bliss of Heaven? The answer to that question clearly is - NO. Jesus Himself, in the Gospel spells it out to us: “many will try to enter and will not succeed.” He goes on to say: “you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us”… but he will reply, “I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men!”

Contrary, then, to the belief of many, not everyone who dies is guaranteed a place in Heaven, but, because of the choices they have made in this life, wilful choices against Christ’s teaching, choices to embrace serious sin, and thereby reject the love of God, some souls will find themselves facing the prospect of eternal damnation in Hell.

The damnation of a human soul is the greatest of all torments, and the greatest of tragedies, where a child of God, so cherished by Him that He offered His own life on the Cross for its salvation, never comes to see the light of God’s face, is separated from His love, and remains trapped, for ever, in the misery which it has created for itself. Hell is the consequence of unrepented mortal sin, a state of torment and punishment described in graphic detail by Our Blessed Lord, who speaks of “weeping and grinding of teeth,” and of “hell fire”, and which the Church confirms to be a state of “eternal death” from which there is “no turning back.”

Seeing the horror of the teaching on Hell, some object, and say - I don’t believe that a loving God would condemn a soul to Hell for all eternity. Those who level such hollow criticisms at Christ’s and the Church’s teaching fail to realise, however, that, really, it is the individual soul itself who chooses to be damned - God merely confirms, in His justice, the decision made by that soul of it’s own free will, having given that soul the freedom during it’s life on earth to either embrace His love or to turn away from it - and all the while trying, by His grace, to secure it’s salvation.

As unpalatable a thought as it may be, Hell is a reality, and we have only this life, to make the most of, to make sure that we don’t find ourselves facing that nightmarish prospect.

Jesus exhorts us to “enter by the narrow door” if we want to reach the Heaven for which we were created. He exhorts us, in other words to live His teachings and the teachings of His Church - to not dismiss them, or pick and choose from them, but to embrace them all, and to do our very best with His help and His grace to put these teachings into practice. He tells us, that this will involve renouncing ourselves, making sacrifices, carrying our Cross. He tells us that the way will be hard and demanding. He knows that we will struggle. But what He assures us of, too, precisely because He loves us and desperately seeks our salvation, is that He is with us on this journey to strengthen and support us, to encourage us, and to pick us up, and help us to start again when we fall.

No soul need ever be damned because God has given us all we need in the Sacraments to secure our salvation, and perhaps most especially in the Sacrament of Confession - but if we will not use these gifts that God gives us, if we are too proud to humble ourselves and ask pardon of the Lord, or if we are so stubborn and arrogant as to convince ourselves that what we do is not sinful, even when we know that Our Mother, the Church, teaches us that it is, then we will have only ourselves to reproach when we fail to reach our heavenly homeland.

How deeply does our faith penetrate our lives?

This is a delicate topic on which to speak, as the only one who really knows how deeply our faith penetrates our lives is God, Who can see into our hearts and knows us more intimately than any other. That being said, I don't think it pointless to at least ask ourselves the question: are we just going through the motions, or are our lives truly God-centred?

The danger for 'religious' people is that we live our faith on the surface, we do what is expected of us to a certain extent, but never actually allow that faith to completely transform us. Perhaps we take some sense of satisfaction in knowing, for example, that we go to Mass when it is required of us, that we are regular in our celebration of Confession, that we give to charity, and that we generally don't do anyone any harm. But is that enough?

Like any real relationship going through the motions is unsatisfactory - for a husband to say to his wife, 'I love you' and that be it, in other words for it to remain words but not be backed up by actions is meaningless. And if those 'loving' actions are merely performed out of a sense of duty - I've got to do this - rather than out of a desire to do it, rather than out of a willingness to do it, then again it is unsatisfactory. Fair enough, better to do something out of a sense of duty than to not do it at all, but better still to do it with a real attitude of love and commitment - this is the perfect way.

This, then, is how our relationship with God ought to be: it ought to be motivated by real love, and not purely by a sense of duty, it ought to be authentic.

It was St. James who pointed out that for faith to be meaningful it has to find concrete expression in works, in actions, faith does not exist if it exists only in the realm of ideas, faith of its very nature has to be lived. If, then, our faith does not undergird our lives, if it is not transforming and challenging and shaping the way we live on a daily basis then it is unquestionably dead. If our faith is not constantly calling us to conversion, or if it is complacent and self-satisfied then it is dead. My faith is hollow and empty if I am not pushed every day to try to be a better person.

How important that we regularly examine in some objective manner, with the help of a Confessor or Spiritual Director, the path our life is taking, and whether we have adopted a way of life that treats superficially with faith, or whether we are listening to and acting upon the prompting of God's Holy Spirit, Who unceasingly spurs us on in the pursuit of holiness.

Save us from the Fires of Hell

That familiar prayer of the Rosary, the Fatima prayer, reminds us of the fearful reality of Hell: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy". The Roman Canon, too, implores the Heavenly Father to "Grant us... peace in this life, save us from final damnation, and count us among those you have chosen." It may be an unpalatable dogma of the Church, but the reality of the existence of Hell is indisputable, in fact Our Blessed Lord, so full of mercy, so compassionate, so loving, makes it clear that Hell exists: "...if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'" (Mark 9:45-47)

The line between life and death is finer even than a hair's breadth, and the reality of our eternal destiny no further away, how important then that we strive to live in God's grace and avoid the sin which can jeopardise our eternal salvation. As Jesus reminds us, once more: "For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?" (Mark 8:36)  Nothing this world has to offer, no pleasure, no relationship, no self-indulgence, no desire of ours is worth losing our soul, is worth putting our salvation at risk.

Mortal sin is so serious that the Church teaches the following: "It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back."(CCC para. 1861)

I think it was Archbishop Fulton Sheen (I may be wrong) who told the story of the nun showing the non-Catholic around the Church, and when the non-Catholic came to the Confessional box he asked: "Sister, what is this?" to which she replied, humorously: "The fire escape!" The story, true or not, makes a valuable point - no soul need ever go to Hell, no matter how grave its sins, God has provided the Fire Escape in the form of the Sacrament of Confession, He offers us the means to remain in His grace, indeed to grow in grace, to be reconciled to Him if we fall, and to avoid the greatest human tragedy of all: eternal damnation.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On November the 1st, 1950, invoking his infallible teaching authority, Pope Pius XII, in the Apostolic Constitution entitled: The Most bountiful God, solemnly defined, once and for all, what had been held and believed by Catholics for centuries, namely: that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the end of her life, was assumed body and soul into the glory of Heaven.

The weight of infallibility accorded to this teaching, highlighted its importance for all Christians, since the dogma of the Assumption of our Blessed Lady body and soul into Heaven not only confirmed her unique role in God’s plan of salvation - chosen, as she was, to be the Mother of God - but it served to further clarify the truth about our destiny as children of God.

Whilst Mary received this particular grace of being assumed into God’s glory in her complete person - her physical body which had nourished and protected our unborn Saviour being preserved from the corruption of the grave - the dogma of the Assumption helps to focus the minds of us all on the hope of reaching Heaven. Mary, as the archetypal Christian, manifests in her person the destiny of the Church as a whole; of all God’s faithful people. “I am going now to prepare a place for you,” Jesus says to us in St. John’s Gospel, “and after I have gone and prepared you a place, I shall return to take you with me; so that where I am you may be too.” - and in the life and example of Mary, in her Assumption, we see this promise fulfilled.

Keeping our eyes fixed on this eternal destiny of ours, on the hope of Heaven, is essential to us getting our priorities in life right. With Heaven in view we see how transient this world truly is, and we understand that whilst engaging in this world, and playing a fruitful and constructive part in it, our hearts must belong to God. With our eyes fixed on God and on Heaven, our lives will then follow - the way we will determine to live will be such that it will lead us in the direction of God and the things of God - and whilst being necessary to our existence in this world, we will have a healthy and proper detachment from, and freedom in regard to, temporal and material concerns. In other words: the hope of Heaven, which is a reality for us all, the hope of remaining for all eternity in the loving embrace of our Heavenly Father, urges us to be faithful to Him in this life, by accepting and living His commandments with willing hearts, and letting go, with the help of His grace, of those things that stand in the way.

What lessons might we then learn from our Blessed Mother, the most perfect of all disciples, who has already attained the complete happiness of Heaven?

We must learn from Mary to be people of prayer, open to listening to God, loving in our conversation with Him, receptive to His Word and His will. We must learn humility, obedience, faith, and trust. We must learn to have the courage and strength of Mary, relying completely on the Lord and on His promises, even when things seem difficult or impossible for us - believing in God’s goodness, believing that God will always support us and never disappoint us. If we imitate Mary in these things we can be sure to imitate her in sharing in God’s life for ever in Heaven. (O Mary assumed into Heaven, pray for us!)

Sentimentality Gone Mad

Watching the BBC this morning highlighted for me once again the absurdity of society's attitudes towards the unborn child. The nonsense of a society which gets sentimental and emotional over too many kittens or puppies without a home, or older animals having to be put down, or over the hunting of foxes, is infinitely frustrating when at the same time it is happy - enthusiastic even - to sanction the abortion of the unborn human child.

When are we going to get a grip on reality, and on the seriousness of murdering our own children before they are born, and see that human life is incomparably more valuable than the life of an animal? As an animal lover I would condemn cruelty, of course, but my love as a Christian is more for my fellow human beings  - those called to share in the life of God - than it is for an animal whose purpose is fulfilled in this world.

What does it say about our society when we hate our children so much that we are happy for them to be killed in the womb? What does it say for society when we are not prepared to take responsibility for our own actions which are the reason for that child being conceived in the first place? What does it say for society when we preach tolerance towards all, rights for all, and yet the most vulnerable are denied any place in that society?

Modern attitudes are absurd and the truth has been twisted. I see society's approach to life as certainly subject to satanic influence - no revelation perhaps! It is the very nature of the Evil One to skew the truth, to turn upside down and inside out, to distort. So that, yes, we stand up for rights and freedoms, but not our real rights and freedoms but a perverted version of them. How can any thinking, feeling, sensible human being prefer the life of an animal to the life of another human, another child of God?

The Value of Suffering

One thing that can add immeasurably to the feelings of despondency of those who are sick and suffering is the sense that their pain is futile. What our faith has to offer to the sick is a sense of purpose, to see that whatever they endure is not in vain, and, in fact, can be of great value; salvific value even.

The world sees pain as pointless - I suppose that if you limit your horizons to believing that this life is the be-all-and-end-all, then pain is the futile cousin and pre-cursor to the absurdity of death and annihilation. For us Christians on the other hand, pain is full of potential - we know that the sufferings of Christ were the very means of our salvation, we know too that when united to the sufferings of Christ the pains that we experience also take on supernatural value and can help to atone for sins and to win graces from the good God. How consoling it can be to encourage a suffering soul by telling him that what he is undergoing can bring comfort to the souls in Purgatory, or help some other soul to be saved - it means, then, that suffering becomes something immensely positive in so far as we accept it in faith.

We should remind those who are sick of the great contribution they have to offer to the salvation of souls, and encourage them in their privileged vocation of sharing the burden of our Lord's own suffering for the sins of the world. Whilst in charity we do what is necessary to alleviate the pains of the suffering our view is wholly different from that of the world - we see that the suffering, the disabled, and so on,  have something tremendous and beautiful to offer mankind.

Preparation for Holy Mass

Whilst recognising the centrality of the Holy Eucharist to our faith and our relationship with the Almighty we can, at times, be remiss in the the manner in which we prepare to participate in the Sacred Mysteries. We must remember that in order to be properly disposed to participate in Holy Mass we should take some time to recollect ourselves, to pray, to examine our conscience. Rushing in to Mass at the last minute (under normal circumstances) will never be the right kind of preparation, as it takes at least a few minutes for us to calm ourselves, and to recognise what it is that we are about to engage in. Even some moments of quiet before Mass begins will  help us to be better disposed. This is why it is important, too, that we respect the silence of the Church in order that those around us can make their personal preparation to welcome Jesus. If we have the opportunity we should also try, perhaps even the night before if we know we will be rushed in the morning, to look over the next day's Scripture readings, so that we don't hear them 'cold'. It's all common sense, but now and again it helps to remind ourselves of these basic principles that will help us to participate in Holy Mass in a more fruitful manner.

The Medicine of Immortality

Saint Ignatius of Antioch says that in the Holy Eucharist, we: "break the one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death and the food that makes us live forever in Jesus Christ." (Taken from the Compendium Catechism, pg. 97)

Confession - A wonderful Sacrament

What goes hand-in-hand with a love for the Holy Eucharist is an equal love for the Sacrament of Confession. Now that may sound strange to some. It may sound odd to speak of a love for Confession, as going to Confession isn't always the easiest of experiences. None of us, I think,  if we were completely honest, finds going to Confession a breeze, even those of us who are privileged to sit on the other side of the grille. We have to learn, however, to develop a love for this Sacrament and to begin to understand just how valuable and how wonderful it truly is.

Once, when I went to Confession, prior to it actually, these words of Scripture came to my mind, the words spoken by Our Blessed Lord to Zacchaeus: "Today salvation has come to this house." And such is the reality. We experience in the most powerful way the salvation won for us by Jesus Christ every time we humble ourselves before the priest and confess our sins - at that moment, when the words of absolution are uttered, the power and grace of Christ's Passion, Death, and Resurrection is applied to our soul, our soul is washed in the Precious Blood of our Saviour, and salvation does indeed come to our 'house'. If ever we have been particularly burdened by some sins, we can be aware in an almost tangible manner of that burden being lifted from us, and, where we might have felt oppressed, our hearts become light and are filled with a joy which we know can only come from God.

It's sad, unfortunate, that many Catholics have abandoned the practise of regular Confession because in doing so they deprive themselves of these wonderful graces which Our Lord wants to share with them. Going to Confession is such a powerful experience of the love of God. I never cease to be touched by the miracles of grace that take place in the confessional, and how God touches the souls of us poor sinners. Going to Confession is, as Our Lord descibed it in the parable of the Prodigal Son, like the embrace of the Father extended to His wayward child - and there is no condemnation, there is no harsh rebuke - for the penitent sinner there is only the welcome and the warm embrace no matter the gravity of the sins. God is far more generous than we would be to anyone who would offend us or sin against us, all that God is interested in is the fact that this beloved child of His has returned, and with he help of His grace He wills that this child should then continue on that straight path to salvation.

When we delight in receiving Our Blessed Lord regularly in Holy Communion as food for our souls, we should delight, too, in being able to receive His mercy and forgiveness  - another great sign of His love - in the Sacrament of Confession.

The Awesomeness of the Holy Eucharist

The second Communion Antiphon of today's Mass reads: "The bread I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world, says the Lord." For some reason I found this particularly striking as I read it this morning. Perhaps what is striking is how clear these words make it that the Holy Eucharist is the very source of our life, and that it is in the Holy Eucharist that all graces and all strength for this Christian pilgrimage of ours are to be found. Here nothing is lacking, here is Life Himself, Who offers Himself for all and to all. What is striking is Our Lord's unbounded generosity - He sacrifices Himself to take away our sins on Calvary, undergoing incredible suffering motivated by the most indescribable love for His creatures, then He continues to offer Himself through the Eucharist, and continues to remain with us through the Eucharist as our unfailing strength and support. We can only be awestruck by the nature of God's love for us, and by this most precious of gifts that He gives us.

Can anything compare to the wonder of the Holy Eucharist and to the Real Presence? Even when the eyes of faith are enlightened by God's grace, I think we can snatch only a glimpse of the reality of the beauty of the Holy Eucharist and its meaning, we will always remain somehow impoverished in our understanding until we finally see God face-to-face, when the sacramental veil is removed. But what a joy to know that this Jesus is always here for us in the Tabernacle and that He comes to us daily to dwell in and feed our souls. If we live for anything, we should live to welcome Him into our souls daily - a privilege beyond description. If only each day, and each Holy Communion would help us to appreciate this gift more and to love our Eucharistic Lord more profoundly. Each Communion is already, in truth, a foretaste of the union we hope to have with God for ever in Heaven, where we will experience the fullness of His love without end. "O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine!"